(Adopted at the Nineteenth Session of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China on May 15, 1996, promulgated by Order No. 69 of The President of the People’s Republic of China on May 15, 1996, and effective as of September 1, 1996.)
Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II The System of Vocational Education
Chapter III The Implementation of Vocational Education
Chapter IV The Guarantee of Vocational Education
Chapter V Supplementary Provisions
CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1 With a view to implementing the strategy for rejuvenating China through science and education, developing vocational education, enhancing the quality of workers and promoting the construction of socialist modernization, this Law is hereby enacted pursuant to the Education Law and the Labour Law of the People’s Republic of China.
Article 2 This Law shall apply to vocational school education at various levels and vocational education in various forms. Special training conducted by State organs for their personnel shall be prescribed separately by laws and regulations.
Article 3 Vocational education is an important component of the educational undertakings of the State and an important way to promote economic and social development and employment. The State shall develop vocational education, propel vocational education reform, raise the quality of vocational education, establish and improve a system of vocational education that keeps abreast of the socialist market economy and social progress.
Article 4 Vocational education shall follow the state’s educational policy, giving the education receivers education on ideology, politics and vocational ethics; teaching vocational knowledge, developing vocational technical abilities, conducting vocational directions and raising the quality of the education receivers in an all-round way.
Article 5 Citizens shall have the right to receive vocational education pursuant to the law.
Article 6 People’s governments at various levels shall incorporate the development of vocational education into the plans of national economic and social development. Trade organisations, enterprises and institutional organisations shall, pursuant to the law, perform their duties to carry out vocational education.
Article 7 The State shall adopt measures to develop vocational education in rural areas, support the development of vocational education in ethnic minority regions, remote border areas and poverty-stricken areas. The State shall adopt measures to assist women in receiving vocational education, organize the unemployed to receive vocational education in various forms, and provide support for the development of vocational education for disabled persons.
Article 8 Vocational education shall, in the light of actual needs and according to the vocational categories and vocational grade standards set by the State, adopt systems of academic credentials, training certifications and vocational credentials. The State shall adopt a system whereby workers shall receive necessary vocational education before taking up occupations or job posts.
Article 9 The State shall encourage and organize scientific research on vocational education.
Article 10 The State shall give awards to organisations and individuals that have made remarkable achievements in the work of vocational education.
Article 11 The education administrative department of the State Council shall be responsible for the overall planning, comprehensive coordination and macro-control of vocational education.
The education administrative department, the labour administrative department and other relevant departments of the State Council shall, within the scope of their functions and duties prescribed by the State Council, be respectively responsible for relevant work of vocational education.
Local people’s governments at the county level and above shall strengthen the leadership, overall coordination, supervision, direction and assessment with regard to the work of vocational education in their own administrative regions.
CHAPTER II THE SYSTEM OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
Article 12 The state shall, in accordance with the levels of economic development and the situation of universal education of various regions, implement the education division at different stages mainly after junior middle school, institute and improve a system for vocational education whereby vocational school education and vocational training shall be developed concurrently and shall be connected with other forms of education towards a coordinate development of both.
Article 13 Vocational school education includes primary, secondary and higher vocational school education.
Primary and secondary vocational school education shall be carried out respectively by primary and secondary vocational schools. The higher vocational school education shall, in accordance with the actual needs and conditions, be undertaken by higher vocational schools or by common institutions of higher learning. Other schools may, in accordance with the overall planning by the education administrative department, implement vocational school education at corresponding levels.
Article 14 Vocational training includes training before employment, training for army men transferred to civilian work, training for apprentice, on-the-job training, job-transfer training and other forms of training of vocational nature. Vocational training may, according to the actual situation, be classified into primary, secondary or further vocational training.
Vocational training shall be respectively undertaken by corresponding vocational training institutions and vocational schools. Other schools or educational institutions may, according to their educational capacity, develop various forms of vocational training to meet the needs of the society.
Article 15 In addition the educational institutions for disabled persons which shall provide vocational training for disabled persons, vocational schools, vocational training institutions and other educational institutions at various levels and of various types shall, in accordance with relevant provisions set by the State, admit students with disabilities.
Article 16 Common middle schools may, in line with local conditions, open vocational courses or, in accordance with actual needs, appropriately increase teaching contents of vocational education.
CHAPTER III THE IMPLEMENTATION OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
Article 17 Local people’s governments at county level and above shall sponsor vocational schools and vocational training institutions and make them mainstays and examples, provide guidance and support to vocational schools and vocational training institutions established pursuant to the law in rural areas or by enterprises, institutional organisations, social organisations, other social organisations or citizens.
Article 18 People’s governments at the county level shall, in accordance with the needs of overall, coordinate development of rural economy, agricultural science and technology, and rural education, conduct vocational education in various forms, develop training of practical technologies and promote the development of rural vocational education.
Article 19 The competent departments of the governments and trade associations shall jointly sponsor or sponsor on their own vocational schools and vocational training institutions, organize, coordinate and direct the enterprises and institutions of their own sector or trade in running vocational schools and vocational training institutions. The State shall encourage the use of modern teaching methods for the development of vocational education.
Article 20 Enterprises shall, in accordance with their actual situation, provide vocational education in a planned way for their staff, workers and persons to be employed. Enterprises may jointly run or run on their own vocational schools and vocational training institutions; they may also entrust vocational schools or vocational training institutions with the vocational education of their staff, workers and persons to be employed by them.
Staff and workers engaging in technical work must receive proper training before going to their posts; staff and workers engaging in special work must receive relevant training and obtain qualifications for the special work.
Article 21 The State encourages institutional organisations，social organisations， other social groups and citizens to run vocational schools and vocational training institutions in accordance with relevant provisions set by the State.
Procedures for sponsorship of vocational schools and vocational training institutions within the Chinese territory by organisations or individuals from abroad shall be formulated by the State Council.
Article 22 For jointly sponsoring a vocational school or vocational training institution, the sponsors shall conclude a contract for the joint sponsorship.
Where a competent department of the government, trade association, enterprise or institutional organisation entrusts a vocational school or vocational training institution with vocational education, a contract shall be concluded for the entrustment.
Article 23 In conducting vocational education, vocational schools and vocational training institutions shall integrate education with production, serve the local economic development, and maintain close ties with enterprises and train practical personnel and skilled workers.
Vocational schools and vocational training institutions may run enterprises or training places regarding vocational education.
Article 24 For the establishment of a vocational school, the following basic conditions shall be satisfied:
(1) Have its organisational structure and rules and regulations;
(2) Have qualified teachers;
(3) Have premises for teaching which accord with the prescribed standards, and facilities and equipment suitable for vocational education; and
(4) Have the necessary funds for running the school and stable sources of the funds.
For the establishment of a vocational training institution, the following basic conditions shall be satisfied:
(1) Have its organisational structure and a system of management;
(2) Have teachers and management personnel suited to the training tasks;
(3) Have premises, facilities and equipment for the conduct of training; and
(4) Have necessary funds.
The establishment, changes, and termination of vocational schools or vocational training institutions shall be conducted in accordance with relevant regulations set by the State.
Article 25 Students receiving education from vocational schools shall, after passing the examinations administered by the school, be issued academic credentials in accordance with relevant regulations of the State. Students receiving vocational training shall, after passing the examinations administered by the vocational schools or vocational training institutions, which provide the training, be issued certification of training in accordance with relevant regulations of the State.
Academic credentials and training certifications shall, in accordance with relevant provisions set by the State, be used as certifications of graduates and trainees of vocational schools and vocational training institutions when they are employed.
CHAPTER IV THE GUARANTEE OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
Article 26 The State encourages raising of funds from various channels according to the law for the development of vocational education.
Article 27 The People’s governments of various provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government shall determine the average financial standard per student of vocational schools in the administrative regions; relevant departments of the State Council shall, in conjunction with the financial department of the State Council, determine the average financial standard per student of vocational schools under their administration. Sponsors of a vocational school shall, in accordance with the average financial standards per student, appropriate in full the funds for vocational education.
People’s governments at various levels and relevant departments of the State Council shall increase step by step the financial allocations for vocational schools and vocational training institutions.
No organisation or individual may embezzle or pocket any portion of funds designated for vocational education.
Article 28 Enterprises shall bear the expenses for the vocational education provided for its own staff and persons to be employed by them. Concrete measures shall be formulated according to the law by the relevant departments of the State Council together with the financial department of the State Council or by the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the central government.
Article 29 If any enterprise fails to conduct vocational education in accordance with Article 20 of this Law, the local people’s government at the county level or above shall order it to make correction; if the enterprise refuses to make corrections, the vocational educational funds that the enterprise should bear may be collected, and such funds shall be used for vocational education in the locality.
Article 30 The people’s government of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government may set aside a special sum or arrange a portion for vocational education from the local extra charges that they have decided to collect for education in accordance with relevant provisions of the Education Law.
Article 31 The people’s governments at various levels may appropriate proper amounts for rural vocational training from the funds for developing agricultural science and technology or for the spreading of technology.
Article 32 Vocational schools and vocational training institutions may charge tuition fees from students receiving secondary or higher vocational school education or vocational training, but students with financial difficulties and students with disabilities shall enjoy a partial or total tuition waiver. The measures for collection of tuition fees shall be formulated by the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the central government.
The State encourages enterprises, institutional organisations, social organisations, other social groups and citizens to establish, in accordance with relevant provisions set by the State, scholarships and loans for vocational education to give rewards to students getting excellent marks in studies or to aid students with financial difficulties.
Article 33 Incomes received from the running of enterprises and provision of social service by vocational schools and vocational training institutions shall be mainly used to develop vocational education.
Article 34 The State encourages financial institutions to support the development of vocational education by applying the use of credit.
Article 35 The State encourages enterprises, institutional organisations, social organisations, other social groups and citizens to donate to vocational education, encourages organisations and individuals abroad to provide funds for or donate to vocational education. The aid and donation offered shall be used for vocational education.
Article 36 The people’s governments at the county level or above and the relevant departments shall incorporate the training of vocational education teachers into the planning of construction of the contingent of teachers, so as to ensure that the contingent of vocational education teachers can meet the needs of the development of vocational education.
A vocational school and vocational training institution may engage specialized technical persons, persons with special technical ability and teachers from other educational institutions as part-time teachers. The relevant departments and units shall facilitate the recruitment of such persons.
Article 37 Relevant departments of the State Council, local people’s governments at the county level or above and organisations and citizens running vocational schools and vocational training institutions shall strengthen the construction of productive and training bases for vocational education.
Enterprises and institutional organisations shall accept students and teachers from vocational schools and vocational training institutions to do practice; those doing practice on certain spots shall be paid properly.
Article 38 The people’s governments at the county level or above and the relevant departments shall institute and improve a system for vocational education and strengthen the work of compiling, publishing and distribution of teaching materials used for vocational education.
CHAPTER V SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS
Article 39 Those who violate the provisions of the Education Law in vocational education activities shall be penalised in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Education Law.
Article 40 This Law shall come into force as of September 1, 1996.
